2013 + Honda CB1100

It really is and while they are having a slug fest in another thread about the new Yamaha Bolt wanting to copy the Sportster. Nobody can say that about this bike. Its pure Honda and I like it.

Stopped in at the local Honda shop today. They don't think they'll have one until nearly the end of the month (28th).

No worries. I happily played with the F6B (love it) and CRF250L (like it a lot).

It's rare for them to have a CRF250L on the floor because they sell so quick.

No sign of an NC700X. I think that's the same kind of deal. They don't get onto the showroom floor because they already belong to someone.

Is it just me, or is Honda really on a roll?

I think so. They got the boomers by their gray short hairs with this model.
If they were to somehow offer a "Kerker" branded pipe, you'd hear squee's out of men who haven't been that excited in public in years.

Werd. Something to be said for that.

Now, if Yamaha makes a retro triple...

How abou a two smoker...

Regards, Paul

Exactly, I thought the watercraft people had developed some pretty clean 2 stroke motors. A new RZ350??? I'm in!!

Yamaha is well along in developing a new triple, to be used in a whole range of new models. Of course, they haven't said what type of models; it seems a sportbike is just about certain, but after that.....?

It probably won't happen, but if they were to build something along the lines of the CB1100 with a triple, that would certainly get my attention. One can dream, right?

I emailed them about a price for the ABS model and got this reply:

For the ABS model add 900. For more info please call our sales staff at 888-753-0405. Thanks, Steve

$9949 is $1050 off MSRP. Hmmm.....And they're 800 mi. from Abq. NM. Worth considering.

No one has one yet?

They might be too smart for that. Equally -- they're incapable of it, so it's a moot point. The Japanese can spit out cruisers in their sleep, but HD is trapped by their single layout. And why? Because they don't have the engineering capability. It would take them 2 or 3 decades to match a 2013 R1, by which time it would be, uh, pretty obsolete. They have to play the nostalgia angle as it's all they've got. Not trying to offend the Harley faithful out there, but it's the truth.

Anyways Mr. Road Toad, I think we'd probably all appreciate it in this thread if you would limit the Yamaha/Starley rage to the Bolt thread. Can you give us that small courtesy?

I think that rather than the company, it's the faithful that are the problem. In creating such a marketing savvy image for the customers, the customers have projected it backward in an interesting yin/yang sort of social construct.
Look at bikes like the XR1200 and VRSC. Without the faithful buying into them as hive mind approved machines, they falter and wither on the floor.
You don't even have to ask if it's a real Harley. Any number of people with DILLIGAF patches will give you their unsolicited opinion, despite their patch's insistence they give 0 fucks about anything. It's not just my participation in the hive mind they want to control, but the factory as well.
Honda has avoided that, to their credit. They can build cutting edge sportbikes and tourers and cruisers without anyone but The Toad(tm) really objecting vociferously.

The MoCo is painted in a corner by their own clever marketing.

Fair enough, and I take your point as stated in your reply. I guess we can split hairs whether what they do is best for them, but is also maybe all they can do in any case. I guess my point was that it's easy to clone something like a Harley because there's really nothing cutting edge about it. I get it that the traditional tech is attractive to some people. Nothing wrong with that. Different strokes for different folks. I'm just more attracted to companies like Honda or Yamaha that can innovate to produce whatever they put their minds to no matter the obstacles. That can draw on their own history, or as you say, someone else's history. That can build something like the CB1100 (or the Bolt) just because they feel like it. Sure it offends some of the purists out there, but bikes should be judged on their merits as motorcycles, not on whether they pass some sort of historical purity test. I understand it's just my own point of view, but my eyeballs start glazing over when people start droning on about 'heritage' and 'history' etc. Honda has as much heritage as anyone as far as I'm concerned, if not chronologically, then definitely in the realm of innovation. If they (or Star) decide to spit out some cruisers to cover that part of the market, who gives a shit? On the other hand, I wouldn't give a damn if the only cruisers out there were Harleys. But it's not up to me. Or you.

Of course, Honda is building the CB1100 to mine their own history, but do they need to? Absolutely not. Am I glad they are? Hell yes. Rambling reply over...

I personally think OldRoadToad's comments are valid to this conversation. While HDs are not my thing, they epitomize the success that can be found by playing off of one's heritage. I have to admit to admiring the success that they've experienced by doing so.

Whether or not any of the Japanese makes are capable of cranking out cruisers is not the point here. The fact that Honda has proven that it is capable of digging back into its own past and is able to create something that is new yet still totally in line with its own heritage, and instantly identifiable as such, is the real story here. Whether it will be successful from a sales standpoint remains to be seen.

I would imagine that a similar amount of buzz would be created if other Japanese makes were to tie into some of their respective iconic past achievements. Such as if Kawasaki were to build a true retro Z bike, or Yamaha were to build a retro RD/RZ bike (provided some serious headway was made with direct injection, low-emission 2-stroke engines) for example.

Checked the CB out at the Chicago show, the booth's crowds were mostly congregated around that one bike. There's no doubt the designers were genuinely in touch with the company's history, it's actually uplifting to watch the videos where they talk about working on the bike. That team should be given it's next project pronto.

This (and the Bolt thread) is interesting, imho, in the sense of how a bike manufacturer balances heritage with innovation.

eg. HD dropped the XR1200, afaik. The VRod bombed in the USA. I find that a bit sad.

eg. Yamaha dropped the MT-01, brought out the Bolt. I also find that sad.

But it goes right back to consumers, at the end of the day. I read an interview with Simon Warburton, head of production for Triumph, and he said the biggest shackles on his team were riders themselves.

Not Bloor, not 'the suits', but what the public would actually purchase, when it came to signing on the dotted line.

He said, amongst consumer groups, bikers were notoriously conservative.

We like to think we are rugged individuals, Warburton's hint is that we are the biggest sheep of all.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LQqq3e03EBQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Not here, yessir, that's correct. Started a minor riot over in the Bolt thread, however.

Very true, moreso in the USA, where bikes are often bought purely for pleasure and are more a fashion/lifestyle statement rather than something that is to bought to fulfill a practical function.

- Mark

I plan on picking up a National Cycle Plexifairing 3 for my bike for winter and Touring

http://www.nationalcycle.com/catalogue/Classic.shtml

I already have a deflector screen for summer riding

http://www.nationalcycle.com/catalogue/DeflectorScreen.shtml

The classic is basically a Harley batwing, but clear. Should give good protection.
I had a Deflector screen on both a BMW R65 and a Honda Magna 750. It deflects the wind off the chest but regardless of how I adjusted the angle, I still got buffeting of my helmet. Hopefully you can get it adjusted to your need. tomp dd50